Pskov Offensive

The Pskov Offensive (20 June- 1944) was an offensive operation carried out by the Soviet Red Army against the German Army Group Center in western Russia's Pskov Oblast as a part of the wider Operation Bagration. The offensive was linked to the Latgale Offensive further to the west, but the Soviets aimed at recapturing occupied Russian territory in the Pskov Offensive, while the Latgale Offensive sought to flank the Germans by invading Latvia.

Background
Operation Bagration was designed by the Stavka with the goal of punching through Axis lines in Eastern Europe and liberating the rest of Belarus and Ukraine from the Germans and their allies, coinciding with the June 1944 invasion of Normandy in northern France by the Allied Powers. Andrei Yeremenko's 2nd Baltic Front was given the responsibility of clearing Pskov Oblast of Army Group Center and Army Group North's German troops, which would allow for the liberation of the Baltics to proceed.

Offensive
On 20 June 1944, the offensive began when 81,000 Soviet armored and infantry troops under Alexey Lobachev began an assault on the German-held city of Velikie Luki, facing the 12,000-strong X Armeekorps under Helmuth von Pannwitz. The Soviets also launched attacks into Latvia at the same time, assaulting German positions at Dagda from 20 to 22 June 1944. While the Latgale Offensive opened up to the west, the Soviets of the 2nd Baltic Front focused on wresting control of Pskov Oblast from the Germans. On 23 June 1944, Velikie Luki fell to the Soviets with 125 losses, while 827 German bodies were left behind during the Axis retreat. The Soviets proceeded to push on the city of Pskov itself, which was declared Festung Pleskow ("Fortress Pskov"), a city to be held at all costs. The Soviets won a crucial victory in July, destroying the German forces in Pskov; the Soviets had already taken over western Latvia by early July, just two weeks after the offensive began.